Vehicle-lifting mechanism.



M. En' JUNES, Jn. da J. L. JONES. VEHICLE ILIFTING iMECHANISM. APPLlcAnou min JuLY 23. |910.

Patented Aug. `14, 191.7.

M. E. JONES, Jn. & J. L. JONES. vfHlcLE LIFHNG MEcHANrsM.

APPLICATIDN FILED JULY 23| ISI-0. Patented Ang. 14| l s suensf-svnen 2.

' WTIVESSES MIE'IJONES, In. 611. L. JONES. VEHICLE 11mm; MEcHANlsM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 23,1910. l 1,236,571. Patented Aug. 14, 1917.

5 SHEETS-SHEEI' 3.

M. E. JONES, 1ML 1. L. JONES. I VEHICLE LIFTING MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED JULY 23'1910.

Patented Aug. 14, 1917.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

' eoLUMBIA.

VEIEIICLE-ILIFTING4 MEQHANSM.

Application `iled July 23, 1910. Serial No. 573,40.

Totali whom may Conce/rn: Be it known that we, MaLvILLE E YJoNEs,

Jr., and .lA-Mns L. JONES, both citizens of the. United States, residing at Washington, vin `the District of Columbia, have invented ce1-.tain new and useful Improvements; in

Vehicle-Lifting Mechanism, `of which `the following is a specification.

The wheels of an automobile are frequently jacked orraised above the ground while such vehicle is not running, in order toeliminate the contact of the tires car- `ried thereon, with the ground. It is a well known fact that tires .relieved of the weight of` the vehicle, while it is not running, will greatly ,ontlast tires which constantly sustain such weight, and it is to the vpreservaltion of the tiresthat the present invention is. rincipally directed.

j n arages the. floors are .often covered V,with oll which has dripped from the engine or .its connected parts or Awhich hasA lbeen. wasted while cleaning or oiling the vehicle. `In such cases our inventionmay also be used to lift the vehicle out of contact with said oil, in order to avoid injury caused b o il on tires.`

` Our invention is attached to the vehicle and can be operated both on the road and Vin a garage, and it effectually relieves the tires ofweight.

A very is that the vehicle may be readily raised in order to render the same, or any part thereof, readily accessible for repair .or inspection, as when necessary -torepair orrempve a tire andfreplace the same `orto repair or adjust. the mechanical troubles.

,It will thus `be-fseen that the invention is useful in all instancesv where -it is desired to raise the machine or a wheel thereof. k

Up to'thepresent time, so' far as we are aware, in` elevating or lifting vehicles, devices independent ,of thesame have bn employed. This inventionV dispenses with theV necessity of l using such independent devices and also leffectively siredfunctions mentioned. l .Y

Another very desi. blefeature of ourtinvcn'tion'is that all.1 wheels of the vehicle .are raised "or, lowered simultaneously and` .the vehicle.` therefore, is moved as a unit; thus dispensing with a `separate operation. for

Specication o! ILettera Patent.'

desirable feature of the invention performs the des l Patenten Aug, l,1.4, '1917.

raisin each wheel, as is incidental to the use o separate jacks which v are generally em loyed. f

n providinga device to accomplish these functlons, among our object sare to provide a `device attached to the vehicle; a device that is driven from 'the Eengine of the vehlcle; to provide 'simultaneousl operable legs or supports adjacent each `w eel, to lift and sustain the 4weight of the vehicle, and movablein opposite directions in a path of ninety degrees of an arc; to provide gearing and shafting for-said legs and: means to throwvthe same in and out of driving rela- Other minor objects will-appear the descri tion hereinafter lfollowing.

Wit these and other objects in view, our l -tion with the'main shaft of theen 'neg'to invention is embodied in one form of device which is hereinafter described and illus trated in the accompanying drawings. In Vthese drawings, .Figure\ 1 is an in- `verted plan of an. automobile 'showing' the invention attached thereto; \Fig. 2, a side elevation thereof; Fig. .3, a plan view of the mechanism comprising our` invention and showing the same separate from the autol'noa bile; Flg. 4, aside elevation thereof; F" 5 and 6, detail :frontand side viewl of l B of the-*lifting legs, showin means mit thereto and operated there y for all llitl`Y cally cutting` off the driving power; Fig. y'7, a plan ofthe box for containingsuch mech-` anism,` with the lid or cover -re oved; Fig.` 8, a partial plan'ofa .modifie form; Fig. 9, avertical section throu h the parts thereof, and Fig. 110,11 side e evationof'one of the lifting members thereof.

Referrin to the drawings, 1 designates the'Y main s aft of the engine of an automosof a longitudinal shaftrunning parallel -to the l main shaft f1 and h.at 4each end is provided with a bevel gear 4. Th'bevel gears 4 mesh `withbevel`gears 5 keyed to the respective gearing vtransverse shafts 6 and 7 which are provided at each end with a lifting and supporting leg 8. These legs are termed hereinafter in some instances, revoluble lifting members downwardly movable lifting members an vertically movable lifting members. The transverse shafts 6 and 7, by means bf the shown, revolve the legs 8 vertically slmultaneously in opposite directions. When not in use the supporting legs are carried in a horizontal osition, as shown in full lines in the drawings, and they'A are adapted to simultaneously travel downward from said sition about ninety de es of an arc, untll `they are substantially vertical as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4. In moving to the vertical position the legs 8 are driven or revolve. downwardly againstthe` ground causing the vehicle to be lifted a distance equal to the projection of the legs lbelowthe tires.

The-scale of the drawin shows the vehicle adapted to be raised a ut five inches. The line :c represents the round line and the lines y--y drawn paralle to the ground represent a tangent to. the peri hery of the tires in the elevated`position o thevehicle.

The movement of the legs ceases when the l `vertical position is reached as the driving SUVPOWBff'is automatically cut oli-1 i 'vertical varms when i These arms act as l movemegit of the e M lfhe egs or lifting membersare proviq I'idn'vith rollers 411 at- Members 9 are secured to theside beams cof the chassis of the vehicle. Thesemem- :bers provide suitable bearings for the trans- `.verse shafts andthe have vertical and horizontal arms'lO, the abutting against the t e vertical'position is reached and against the horizontal arms when 'the horizontal sition is reached.

sitlve sto s to limit the ground when liftingthe vehicle and they serve to reduce friction. Gears 12 4and 13 are keyed to the longitudinal shaft 3 and an intermediate or idler gear 14 meshes with'A the gear 13. Shaft 3 'by means of the bevels.v

4 meshing with bevels', is adapt/ed to drive the transverse shafts 6` and 7 causing the legs or suppjorts 8 to accomflish the function setforth. he power for amsm is transmitted-from the Vengine .which propels the vehicle. OnA the main ,shaft 1 of the lengine adjacent the fly wheel 2, is lo.-

5 termination of the specific set ofgears that 4 1 revolves. The sliding rivin'g this mechwill raise the legs or lower them, depends upon the direction in which the main shaft ear 15 has a shank portion 17 provided wit a circumferential groove. 18 1s an operating lever for. the slidin gar and it is pivoted at 19 to one ofthe si e ams of the chassis, and at its lowest extremity it is pivoted to a link 20 by means of a transverse rod, and the link 20 is pivoted at its other end to a bifurcated member 21, adapted to engage the groove of the sliding gear. 'I he gear will slide on the shaft 1 when the lever is o erated owing to the connection shown. he lever carries a s ring-pressed plunger 22 adapted to enter t enotches 23 in a sector late 24 mounted on the vehicle. (Fi provided and the eslred set of gears for operating the legs 4may be locked together by the engagement of the plunger with the outer notches and when the slidin gear is placed in neutral position, the p unger is adapted to engage the central notch. The lever 18 is shown on the left side of the vehicle. to prevent confusion with the levers hree notches are for ope ting the vehicle'but it may be lo- 'y cated licw'here, if desired.

The various gear mechanisms are incased and the casings have Abeen partly broken away. on all views to more clearl illustrate the parts.- The casings. provi e suitable bearings for the shafts. 25 are bearings for. the intermediate gear 14 v-and these bearings.v are secured to the casing adjacent the gear.'

When the vehicle has' been. lifted or elevated, the legs are in vertical position and onreachmg such position the power from the engineis automatically cut off; and also when the machine is loweredand the le s have returned to horizontal position, t e power from the engine will be automatically cut oi. This automatic cut oi mechanism willnow be described and it is shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7.

A box or. casin 26 is secured 4to one of the members 9 yand orms a rotective covering v his switch is con-- for an electric' switch. i nected so as to interrupt the armature circuit of tha-ignition system for the engine.4 27

is a switch arm, and one ofthe armature wires 28 of the ignition system is connected particularly thereto, and the other wire 29 is connected to two contact buttons 30 and 31, Fig. 7) thegcircuit being made continuous by the current passing through the wire 28, switcharm 7 and to either button' 30 or 31, and then through the wire 29. The remainder Iof the ignition system is not changed. y The switch arm 2-7 extends through an arcuate'slotin the box 26 and has an exterior knob 32. This knob is arranged in the path of a llug 33l carried by the adjacent leg or su port 8, and it is so arranged that when the egs are in a horizontal position and it is desired to lift the vehicle, the switch arm 27 is placed on l contact'blitton 30, and the engine isstarted y inthe usualinanner,` without the `clutches y `for drivingthe machine beingin engagement with themain driving'shaft. When the ver tical position is reached, the lug 33 will bear' against the knob 32 and force thesame off :Contact button 30, thereby automatlcally interrupting the ignition circuit and stopping fiov theengine, due to the failure of a spark lto ignite the `carbin'eted mixture inthe enginev cylinders.

In order to return the supportsrto horipro' cedure as outlinedrabove for `lowerlng the "",legs being followed.`

case the momentum of the engine tends to turn the mechanism after the switch arm 27is `forced off button 30 or 31, the arms 10 lpositively]stopfurther movement of the legs. L The liftinglmechanism described is adapted to be operated when the vehicle is not run- Aso and then adjust-the switch arm 27 with the `gears, `o

ning, andit'while' the engine is turning over. To raise the vehicle, the lever 18 is o erated to movethe slidin ear in driving. lation scribed' the movement of such legs or supports will be automatically' stopped. In

.order to return the legs to horizontal position, it isznecessary toadjust the sliding gea-r as previously described.' When the horizontal po sition isreached, the movement of the legs is automatically stopped as described, The sliding gear is then moved to the neutral position, and themechanism for the engine u, is thus,l placed in running order after placing switch arm 27 on contactbutton 30 or .31.

"Ib is clear that tlie en ine cannot be op'- eratgd after a return o the `legs to horizontal position until theswitch arm has been moved on one of the contact buttons.

keyed to shaft 37 and mesh with the bevel ,i 36,wliicb areprovided with shanks seated p andyadapted to turn on ball bearings in, suitable recesses inthe combined. bearings and casings. The .transverse shafts are driven by a longitudinal shaft and bevel gearconnection as in the other orm,,and are operated by the same form of lever and `connected operating parts. The motionimparted to the bevels36v will cause the same tdraise or lower the members 35, according -to the direction of rotationof the engine, by means of tbe threaded connection between s aft 3 whereupon the `legs will be driven to vertical position and `by `meansof the mechanism previously dcweight of the vehicle.

the members andlbevels. jAt thefbaiseofthe members are removable shoesf39 in which the members revolve on ball bearingsVWhen the shoes are in contact with the-ground and the mechanism soperatin f A switch mechanism fgor automatically stopping the engine by interrupting thearmature circuit of the ignition system is similar in "construction and operation as that used for lthe other form except in the following particulars. The switch arm 40 ex- 'tends through the side beam of the chassis and has an arm 41 attached thereto which is adapted to move with said switch arm.- i

A vertically movable rod 42 is secured adjacent-the switch and has projections 43 and 44 in the path of the arm 41 and a projec tion 45 adapted to'be-` depressed b u the T head 46 of the 1nenibers'35. Contact uttons 46 and 47 are connected to the armature circuit in a manner similar to the buttons 30` and 31 of theother form. When the switch arm is in contact with the button Llf3/and the legs are returning to raised position shoe 39 strikes a projection 49 of the rod and moves the switch arm 40, by mans'of arm 41 and projection 43, out of contact withlthe button 46 and automatically cuts olf the driving power. In lowering the members, the switch arm 40 is incontact 'with button 47 which location is slightly under and in the path .of projection 44. Whenthe members are lowered the head 46 will strike the projection the button 47, automatically interrupting l the armature circuit of the ignition system. 50 is a spring to return the rod 42 to position reparatur to another vmovement of the mem rs 35. ne of the combined casings and bearings at the front and rear of the ,vehicle isshaped to house the bevel gears for driving the transverse shafts. The heads 46 and shoes 39 act as positivestops should the switch for any reason fail to operate.

The structures illustrated are shown by way of example; hencewe do not limit ourselves thereto. Any changes in the mecha nism ma be made within thelspirit and scope of he inventiom p, i

Having thus described our inventomwhat" we claim is?? Y' i p 1. In combination with a vehicle, revoluble lifting'members separately attached to thevehicle, and power means to simultane ously revolve said members in opposite' directions to lift the vehicle.

e. in` Combination with n valine' and wheels thereon having4 tires, lifting mem,` bers adjacent the front and rear ofthe ve` hicle, and' power` means to simultaneously operate said front and rear lifting members, 'y

, 4contact with the ground, and means to autoi 3. In'combination With wheels provided with tires, positively driven lifting means attached to the vehicle and means on the vehicle separate from the driving means to limit the movement of the lifting means, said lifting means serving to elevate the vehicle and wheels as a unit to relieve the tires of the weight of the vehicle.

4 In combination with avehicleA having wheels provided with tires, revolubly driven li ing means to lift the veh' relieve the tires of 'the Weight of the vehicle, and means beneath and connected to the veicle separate from the lifting means to limit the movement of, said lifting means 5. In combination with a vehicle, means cath and a vehicle having vehicle and maintain it out of matically cut olf the lifting movement thereof when the vehicle has been elevated, substantially as described.

6. In' combination with a vehicle, means.

beneath and connected to the vehicle adapted to lift the vehicle and maintain it out `of contact with the ground, and means to automatically cut off the movement thereof, when sai means move to retracted position, substantially as described.

' bination with a vehicle,

connected v vehicle and maintain it out of contact with the ground, means to automatically cut off the lifting movement thereof fed when said means has been operated and the v gine vehicle elevated, and means to automatically cut olf the movement thereof when said means move to retracted position, substantially as described. l

n combination with a vehicle and its whee s, a dplurality of lifting members bed as a unit, and electrical means to cut olf the movement thereof, substantially as described. n combination with a vehicle and its wheels and armature circuit, a plurality of lifting members beneath and the vehicle and adapted to lift the vehicle and wheels out of contact with thel ound as a unit, and an electric switch mec anism to control the movement of said means, substantially as described.

10. In combination with gine thereon and an electric circuit, a plurality of lifting members movable independently of the vehicle and adapted to be driven by the engine to lift the vehicle as a whole,

an electric switchmechanism in said circuit to cut off the motion of the engine, contact portions, a switch armadapted to close the circuit by contact with said portions erate said members, substantially as described.

icle as a unit to,

vided with connectedto the vehicle adapted vate and connected to e a vehicle and eni 'engine to cut ol the operation of a vehicle and en# i riven by` the en? gine, an electric switch mechanism in said y' circuit to cut off the contact portions, p close the circuit by contact with said por: tions to operate said members, and means carried by one of the lifting l ranged in the path of the switch arm to disengage the arm andY contact portions tn break the circuit, whereby the operation of the members will cease, substantially as described. j v v 12. In combination 'with a vehicle vprof wheels having otion o'f the' engine,

first shaft'` driven shaft of the machine.

4 13. In combination with a vehicle and wheels thereof having tires and an engine e, second shafts, one ofhnthe,A being located adjacent feat-.h

je tires thereon and'y on the vehicle, revoluble shaft means, gear f means between: the engine and shaft lmeans, legs liiredy on 1vthe shaft means to revolve therewithvto lift thevehicle as a unit to ele of the weight of relieve the tires limit the revolvthe vehicle, and means to ing movement of the legs.

14. In combination with a vehicle and enthereon, revoluble shaft means between the engine and on said bearings to limit the the legs, substantially as described.V

In combination with a. vehicle and en,- gear and shaft Said means to lift the ehicle as a unit, bearings for said means, stop arms to limit the movement of the le means in circuit with the engine to cut off the o eration of the legs, substantially as descri d. y

16. In combination with a gine, gear and shaft means, legs driven by said means, bearings, stop arms on said bearings to limit the movement Aof the legs, an electric switch means in circuit with the the legs, and means to operate the switch through the movement of the legs, substantially as described.

17. In combination'with a vehicle ,having wheels provided with tires and an engine, a and vertically movby said mechavehicle and enand an electric switch i tion betweenthe engine and said mechanism, vand means'to prevent accidental return of ,the lifting members to the ground.'

18. In combination with a vehicle having wheels provided with tires and having an enginevertically movable members driven by the engine to lift the wheels to relieve the tires of the weight, of the machine, shaft and a sliding gear andgear mechanism, connection between said members and gine, adapted to be connected to the shaft 

